In 1944, 19-year-old Ed Fitchhorn was already a seasoned sailor. The gunner's mate had come under Japanese fire while aboard the destroyer Hickox, while off the islands of Peleiu and Tarawa. His ship would later be the target of kamikaze attacks that fell short.

But perhaps his most desperate battle was fought against the sea.

Fitchhorn, now an 87-year-old Paradise Hills resident, told his story Wednesday aboard the carrier Midway as part of U-T San Diego's series, "The Legacy of WWII."